Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump counts among his allies a stable of fringe right-wing conspiracy theorists who’ve made a name for themselves advancing conspiracy theories that include the myth that President Obama is a secret Kenyan Muslim, Lyndon Johnson assassinated John F. Kennedy, and the CIA is paying Beyonce to create mayhem. Trump’s conspiracy theorist allies also regularly wish violence upon political and media figures who they disagree with.

Right-wing media have spent years attacking the Department of Justice’s handling of multi-billion dollar settlements from financial institutions partly responsible for the housing and financial crisis in 2008 and 2009. Conservative outlets falsely allege that the DOJ used settlement payments to create a “liberal slush fund” to disburse millions of dollars to nonprofit organizations like the nonpartisan National Council of La Raza (NCLR), even though these groups are certified housing counseling agencies.

Radio host Michael Savage said Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski "should be given a medal by the U.S. government for protecting" Trump from "narcissistic maniac" reporter Michelle Fields, claiming she could have been a suicide bomber. Trump makes near-weekly appearances on Savage's program and has thanked the conservative host for his "amazing" support.

On March 29, Lewandowski was charged with simple battery after an incident earlier this month in Florida with Fields that left her bruised. As The New York Timesnoted, "new security-camera images show Mr. Lewandowski reaching for and then grabbing Ms. Fields's arm, tugging at her clothing as he pulls her, then walking ahead of her as she reacts, close behind Mr. Trump." Lewandowski and the Trump campaign repeatedlylied about the encounter, and Trump has repeatedly attacked Fields in interviews since news of the arrest became public.

During his March 29 program, Savage hailed Lewandowski as a hero and smeared Fields as "a maniac, in my opinion. A narcissistic maniac." He also doubted the legitimacy of bruises on Fields' arm, wondering if "her boyfriend didn't put the mark on the arm":

MICHAEL SAVAGE: I was going to cover -- I probably will -- including the Breitbart setup of Trump with that reporter who has been made herself -- you know the reporter who said that Trump's aide attacked her with a little mark on her arm? How do we know her boyfriend didn't put the mark on the arm? And I watched the videotape.

[...]

She's a maniac, in my opinion. A narcissistic maniac. She makes Megyn Kelly look like Mother Teresa. So I'm sure that Roger Ailes will be calling any moment. I'm sure they got the shoes, they got the Manolos ready in the backroom, they got the stylist, they got the makeup artist -- they're ready for her.

[...]

She coulda had a knife, coulda had a gun, coulda had an explosive vest, how do we know what she had? Why must you assume that he knew who she was? Lewandowski should be given a medal by the U.S. government for protecting the candidate from an unknown female assailant. And I think that they should consider bringing assault charges against her and teach her a good lesson.

Savage is one of the country's most extreme radio personalities. The Cumulus Media-syndicated talker has called autism "a fraud, a racket," said PTSD and depression sufferers are "losers," advised people not to get flu shots because you can't trust the government, theorized liberals have been driven insane because of seltzer bubbles, claimed President Obama was intentionally trying "to infect the nation with Ebola," and once told a caller he was a "sodomite" who should "get AIDS and die."

Savage has endorsed Trump, saying he believes "he can win. Two, I believe he can save America." Trump told Savage in January, "I appreciate your support, you've been so amazing." He's also said Savage has "common sense" and helped him fuel conspiracy theories about the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's death.

Media are pointing out and criticizing Donald Trump's role in mainstreaming conspiracy theories that Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered, saying Trump "has elevated those ideas and made them a part of the mainstream discourse" and is "engag[ing] with the ugly, irrational underbelly of far right-wing politics."

Right-wing media personalities have been pushing conspiracy theories about the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. They've called the circumstances of his death "peculiar," "suspicious," and "fishy," and claimed President Obama or his allies may have "killed" Scalia because of his opinions on environmental regulations, gun laws, immigration, the Trans-Pacific Partnership, and unions. Republican presidential front-runner Donald Trump has been aiding the conspiracy theories, calling the circumstances surrounding Scalia's death "pretty unusual" and "big stuff."

Republican front-runner Donald Trump appeared on one of his favorite radio shows and added fuel to the conspiracy theory that Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was murdered, saying that one of the details of his death was "pretty unusual."

During the February 15 broadcast of The Savage Nation, Michael Savage told Trump that Scalia might have been "murdered." When Savage asked Trump if he would support "the equivalent of a Warren Commission" to investigate Scalia's death, he replied that he "just heard" that "they found a pillow on his face, which is a pretty unusual place to find a pillow. I can't tell you what -- I can't give you an answer." Brian Tashman of People For the American Way's Right Wing Watch flagged the segment. From Savage's interview with Trump:

SAVAGE: Donald I need to come back to the topic we've been all screaming about here which is Scalia, was he murdered? I know it's pretty brutal to say that and I'm not wanting to drag you into this but this is going to get bigger and bigger and bigger. I went on the air and said we need the equivalent of a Warren Commission, we need an immediate autopsy before the body is disposed of. What do you think of that?

TRUMP: Well I just heard today and that just a little while ago actually -- you know I just landed and I'm hearing it's a big topic -- that's the question. And it's a horrible topic, but they say they found a pillow on his face, which is a pretty unusual place to find a pillow. I can't tell you what -- I can't give you an answer. You know usually I like to give you answers but I literally just heard it a little while ago. It's just starting to come out now, as you know, Michael.

SAVAGE: Well I've been covering it for an hour and a half, there's a lot more to it than that. There was no medical examiner present, there was no one who declared the death who was there, it was done by telephone from a U.S. marshal, appointed by Obama himself. So let me not try to drag you into something you haven't studied because I don't think it would be fair to you and to the audience. I think after you look into these facts, Donald, you yourself will have to come to some different conclusions than you may think.

Savage later claimed that Scalia "was found dead under suspicious circumstances and now this character in the White House who nobody with a rational mind should trust is trying to railroad Loretta Lynch down our throats -- that came out today -- as his number one choice. Can you believe this?" Trump replied with amazement that Obama would want to nominate Lynch.

In the minutes prior to Trump's appearance, Savage suggested that the government is "corrupt enough" to kill Scalia and declared that his death "stinks to high heaven."

Savage is one of the country's most extreme radio personalities. The Cumulus Media-syndicated talker has called autism "a fraud, a racket," said PTSD and depression sufferers are "losers," advised people not to get flu shots because you can't trust the government, theorized liberals have been driven insane because of seltzer bubbles, claimed President Obama was intentionally trying "to infect the nation with Ebola," and once told a caller he was a "sodomite" who should "get AIDS and die." He's endorsed Trump, saying he believes "he can win. Two, I believe he can save America."

Conspiracy theorist radio host Alex Jones has also been suggesting that Scalia was murdered. "My gut tells me they killed him and all the intellectual evidence lays it out," Jones said. Despite his fringe conspiracy theories, including that the government was behind the 9/11 attacks, the Trump campaign has been courting Jones and his audience.

Far-right radio host Michael Savage told Donald Trump that Hispanics will support his presidential campaign because "the Hispanic culture is a macho culture. Men don't like reporting to a woman." Trump did not refute Savage's characterization, and later told him "I appreciate your support, you've been so amazing."

During his January 11 program, Savage remarked to Trump that "the reason Hispanics are going to vote for you -- and I'll say it, I'm not going to ask you -- is because, to be honest, and it's very clear, the Hispanic culture is a macho culture. Men don't like reporting to a woman. It's just the way the culture is. And they'd rather have a man than a woman as president." Savage then asked Trump, who did not refute or respond to Savage's characterization of Hispanics, about his polling with Hispanics:

SAVAGE: I'm asking you the questions about the audiences that we normally don't think would vote for you. On this show, Donald, last week I said the reason Hispanics are going to vote for you -- and I'll say it, I'm not going to ask you -- is because, to be honest, and it's very clear, the Hispanic culture is a macho culture. Men don't like reporting to a woman. It's just the way the culture is. And they'd rather have a man than a woman as president. What are your poll numbers amongst Hispanics?

TRUMP: Well we're doing well. In Nevada we just came in and we were at 34 or something like that, number one, the state of Nevada, which is very heavily Hispanic. And you know I have thousands of people that work for me that are Hispanic. And tens of thousands over the years that have been Hispanic and from Mexico and different places and they're phenomenal people. And, you know, they frankly, you know they don't want people coming into the country illegally and taking their jobs.

Trump later added that he's the one who "came up with" getting rid of "anchor babies" from the country, claiming that "people come over, they have a baby, now we have to take care of the baby for the next 90 years. It's ridiculous." The Associated Press noted that it's "extraordinarily rare for immigrants to come to the U.S. just so they can have babies and get citizenship. In most cases, they come to the U.S. for economic reasons and better hospitals, and end up staying and raising families."

Numerous polls have shown that Trump is actually extremely unpopular with Hispanics. A recent ABC News/Washington Postpoll found "Trump's favorability rating is just 18 percent among Hispanics and blacks alike, vs. 44 percent among whites."

Savage praised Trump for starting the debate on immigration and said "frankly, the entire Democrat machine lives off the illegal alien vote. Without the illegal alien vote, I don't think they'd be where they are today."

Trump heavily praised Savage during the interview, stating at the beginning that it was "always an honor" to be on his program and ending the interview by saying, "I appreciate your support, you've been so amazing and I really do, thank you very much for it."

Savage is one of the country's most extreme radio personalities. The Cumulus Media-syndicated talker has called autism "a fraud, a racket," said PTSD and depression sufferers are "losers," advised people not to get flu shots because you can't trust the government, theorized liberals have been driven insane because of seltzer bubbles, claimed President Obama was intentionally trying "to infect the nation with Ebola," and once told a caller he was a "sodomite" who should "get AIDS and die."

Trump has repeatedly appeared on The Savage Nation and said in a prior appearance there would be "common sense" if he appointed Savage to head the National Institutes of Health if he became president.

From Pope Francis' encyclical on climate change, to the establishment of the first-ever federal limits on carbon pollution from power plants, to a landmark international climate agreement, 2015 has been full of major landmarks in national and global efforts to address global warming. Yet you wouldn't know it if you inhabited the parallel universe of the conservative media, where media figures went to ridiculous and outrageous lengths to dismiss or deny climate science, attack the pope, scientists, and anyone else concerned with climate change, and defend polluting fossil fuel companies. Here are the 15 most ridiculous things conservative media said about climate change in 2015.

Donald Trump told right-wing radio host Michael Savage there would be "common sense" if Trump appointed him head of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as president. Savage has called autism "a fraud, a racket," said PTSD and depression sufferers are "losers," advised people not to get flu shots because you can't trust the government, theorized liberals have been driven insane because of seltzer bubbles, claimed President Obama was intentionally trying "to infect the nation with Ebola," and once told a caller he was a "sodomite" who should "get AIDS and die."

Conservative media have long alleged that progressives are waging a "war on Christianity" in the United States. Now many of these same media figures are waging their own war on the man who leads the world's largest Christian denomination, the Catholic Church's Pope Francis, for addressing the urgent issue of climate change.

Last week, Michael Savage leveled his latest in a long string of attacks on Americans with mental illness and the medical community that works to help them. After a veteran caller with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) expressed support for the city of San Francisco naming a bridge after the late Robin Williams, the right-wing radio host announced that he is "so sick and tired of everyone with their complaints about PTSD, depression," asserting that it's a sign of a "weak, sick, broken nation."

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), approximately 5.2 million adults have PTSD within a given year. As of 2012, mental illness was the leading reason for active-duty hospitalizations in the military, and the VA estimates that up to 20 percent of veterans who served in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars since 2001 suffer from PTSD. For veterans who left the military between October 2002 and July 2011, nearly 200,000 had a provisional diagnosis for PTSD, not including those who went undiagnosed or misdiagnosed. And the Institute of Medicine reported in June that "PTSD is the third most common major service-connected disability after hearing loss and ringing of the ears."

PTSD isn't just a combat-related injury. It can result from various traumatic incidents, ranging from child abuse to car accidents to muggings to sexual assault. A fight-or-flight response can be triggered by things that remind the survivor of her trauma, or things that catch the person off-guard, like bright lights or loud noises. Often those with PTSD experience flashbacks, where memories and feelings associated with past trauma come rushing back as if the trauma was happening all over again.

Right-wing media outlets are parroting the attacks of an anti-LGBTQ hate group on Connecticut’s openly gay comptroller, Kevin Lembo. Lembo recently sent the American Family Association (AFA) a letter asking the group to submit written documentation certifying it complies with the nondiscrimination regulations governing the Connecticut State Employee Campaign for Charitable Giving (CSEC), which allows Connecticut State employees to contribute to qualifying non-profit charities through payroll deductions. Lembo’s office has since been “flooded” with emails and phone calls from AFA supporters.